WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Generations Forged #1, by Dan Jurgens, Andy Schmidt, Robert Venditti, Mike Perkins, Marco Santucci, Paul Pelletier, Norm Rapmund, Bernard Chang, Joe Prado, Colleen Doran, Bryan Hitch, Andrew Currie, Kevin Nowlan, Hi-Fi and Tom Napolitano, on sale now.
One of the most iconic origin stories in all of comic books belongs to Superman. The last child born to the faraway race of Krypton, Kal-El was sent to Earth by his parents Jor-El and Lara through a small spacecraft, the Last Son of Krypton's tale is one that has been depicted in comic books, television series and feature films for decades.
And as a select team of superheroes travels throughout different, important moments in the history of the DC Universe to prevent the space-time continuum from being completely torn asunder, an important detail of Superman's origins is changed by a familiar face: Doctor Light.
The heroic Doctor Kimiyo Hoshi is joined by Starfire and Kamandi on Krypton decades into the relative past. Wounded by the Kryptonian authorities shortly after her arrival by General Zod who mistakes her for a threat, Light is tended to and examined by Jor-El. Light reveals to Jor-El that she is from Earth, a planet he had previously never heard of. Intrigued by the revelation, Jor-El sets out to investigate the faraway planet further, with the fruits of his astronomical research eventually leading him to realize Earth will be the best destination for his son Kal-El, with its yellow sun radiation giving him all the incredible abilities to become the greatest superhero the DCU has ever known.
Even beyond helping Jor-El discover Earth and select it as the best possible candidate for his son's new home, Light provides the Kryptonian scientist with vital information that further shapes Kal-El's life from behind-the-scenes. Light confirms that Krypton is indeed about to be destroyed, with the planet's core destabilized by its neighboring red sun, informing Jor-El and the pregnant Lara that they only have several weeks before Krypton is obliterated. With this timetable and confirmation in hand, Jor-El sets out to diligently prepare the spacecraft that will eventually transport his son to Doctor Light's home planet before Krypton is completed wiped from the universe.
In most depictions of Krypton's destruction, Jor-El reaches the discovery of the planet's impending doom on his own as the leading member of the Kryptonian Science Council, with his findings putting him and his family in jeopardy with the indignant planet's rulers. In the DC Animated Universe and the live-action series Krypton, Brainiac plays a prominent role in Krypton's final days, with the live-action series having him destabilize the planet by stealing the city Kandor while Superman: The Animated Series had him choose to conceal the information of Krypton's destruction until it was too late for their society to properly react. The DC Extended Universe version of Krypton depicted in 2013's Man of Steel revealed that resource-mining committed by the Kryptonians caused the core to grow unstable, with the Kryptonians effectively dooming themselves.
Generations Forged #1 has given Jor-El a fellow scientist to corroborate his findings with, as well as someone that ultimately provided the destination for Kal-El to find his adopted home and superhero destiny.
Doctor Light has quietly become one of the most pivotal figures in DC Universe history by her unexpected arrival to Krypton's past, shaping the course of the universe for centuries to come. And while Krypton is doomed to perish as always, Kimiyo Hoshi has given its civilization the chance to live on elsewhere.